


for the record

by kryptonianmenace



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Homestuck 2: Beyond Canon, Not Canon Compliant - Homestuck 2: Beyond Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23954161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptonianmenace/pseuds/kryptonianmenace
Summary: Dirk and John have a talk about heroes, villains, and self-destruction.---Timeline where Dirk somehow revives John during his trip through space.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	for the record

“I didn’t bring you back just for you to try to off yourself,” I say, pausing in the doorway of John’s room in the wreck of the Theseus.

He rolls to glare at me, not moving from his bed. “I’m not gonna off myself.”

“You can’t fool me, I control the narrative, remember? I know what you’re thinking,” I say.

And it’s true. John’s mind is wide open to my narrative abilities, all of his thoughts out in the open for me to see. It’s remarkably unlike some of my other companions, who remain enigmatic when they so choose, though a little push is usually enough for me to break down their walls. But I suppose it’s true to John’s nature, he was never one to hide behind bullshit.

He huffs and rolls his eyes. “There’s a difference between thinking about wanting to die and actively planning to do so, Dirk. I’m surprised you don’t know that already.”

I move further into the room and he sits up in response. “I know the difference. I just wasn’t sure you did.”

At that, he scoffs. “Sure.”

“I’m well aware of your depression, John. I simply want to make sure my efforts to revive you aren’t in vain,” I say.

I sit down next to him on his bed. He’s pulled his feet up close to him to make himself smaller, hunching inwards as he glares.

“And why go through all that effort?” he asks.

“I promised Terezi, and she wouldn’t stop hassling me until I succeeded,” I say.

He laughs, cold and cynical. “Bullshit.”

“Oh?”

“I think you brought me back because you know every villain needs a hero,” he says.

And yeah, he knows I’m the villain of this story. Why bother to hide it? Terezi thought she was so clever, telling him all that I had done, but I know how he reacted to her. He just shrugged, because I beat her to it. Why bullshit? I’m the bad guy here. We all know it. John will just have to learn to deal with that.

Even so, I turn to lock eyes with him, though he can’t tell due to my shades. I’m humoring him. “Why does a villain need a hero?”

“To stop them.”

“Who said I need to be stopped?”

He leans in closer to me, glare softening. “Deep down, there’s a part of you that wants to be.”

I give him a hum of amusement. “So you think I brought you back to stop me, because deep in my subconscious I don’t want to be the villain anymore?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. But I’m not going to.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re not?”

He shifts his legs so they’re spread out more comfortably, one placed on my lap and one behind me. “Nope. I died. My time as a hero is over, far as I’m concerned. Now I’m just some guy with depression.”

I can honestly say I didn’t expect this. John is the protagonist. That’s why I was able to revive him at all. What’s a story if the hero refuses to be the hero?

That’s not to say he’s at all right in his assumptions of why I brought him back. As I told him before, it was out of a promise to Terezi.

But a hero refusing to stop the villain? Who ever heard of that? And besides, who else is going to be able to stop me?

I ask him as much and he grins.

“Careful, Dirk,” he says. “You’re getting dangerously close to sounding like you want me to be the hero and stop you.”

I continue to stare him down, face blank. “Seriously. Who else can stop me but you? You’ve always been the protagonist of this story. You know the others have no chance without you.”

“Then you win,” he says.

“That’s unlike you,” I say.

He scoffs. “And what do you know about me aside from your bullshit powers? When have we ever interacted before this?”

I hum again. “Fair enough.”

“For the record, I don’t think you’re a bad guy,” he says. “The villain, yes. A bad guy? No.”

“And why is that?” I ask.

“You’re self-destructing. We all were before you did this, and you just took it to the extremes,” he says.

I stay silent for a long while, weighing my options.

“Someone had to,” I finally admit.

“No, you didn’t,” he says. “Life self-destructs sometimes. Let it happen.”

“Do you know what happens in the timeline where I don’t become the villain?” I ask.

He shifts against the headboard of his bed and shakes his head.

“Earth C is plunged into a war between Jane’s government regime and Karkat’s rebellion. Relationships end up strained, if not torn apart for good. I’m dead. Your marriage is in shambles and you have a strained relationship with your son. At one point you try to kidnap Jane’s son.”

He shrugs. “Like I said, life self-destructs sometimes. Sucks that you’re dead, though.”

I let out a false laugh. “Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment.”

He nudges my arm. “Seriously, Dirk. You’re not a bad guy. You brought me back, didn’t you? You’re just…”

“Just what?”

“I don’t know. You’re just you, I guess. Self-destructing, but still you,” he says.

We lapse into a comfortable silence.

“Hey, Dirk?” he asks, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Get out of my room and let me sleep.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, alright.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out my tumblr!](https://haljordanisbatman.tumblr.com/)


End file.
